When I was a little girl, I was asked several times (as everyone is asked at various stages in their lives) what I wanted to be when I grew up. My first answer was that I wanted to be an ice skater. I saw the way they moved and thought they looked so free and happy on TV. They made skating look so beautiful, elegant, and easy. So I begged my dad to take me to the skating rink. He paid for an hour of skating - no lessons, no instruction, and no help. I was so eager to get in the rink but once I got my skates on I began to panic. I felt my ankles weaken and my balance wobble. I went from Ms. Future Figure Skater to terrified and intimidated real quick. I got on the ice and lasted 5 seconds before falling face forward. And that was the end of my first career.
I had several other career promises thereafter: Interior Designer, Dermatologist, Guidance Counselor, P.E. Coach, Marine Biologist, Teacher, Neuroscientist, Psychologist, Professional Stay at Home Mom. Almost all of the professions I wanted to pursue were sparked by either a personal issue or a sense of creativity. However, the most recent aspirations were sparked by something deep inside me that had always been there. When I was frustrated and had no concrete answer to the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I gave the most honest and basic answer that was in my heart. “When I grow up I just want to help people. I want to help animals. I want to be a good person. I want to change the world.”
I remember a few times when I said this I was met with a simple, sad smile, a pat on the head, and a look of, “oh you poor silly girl.” Yes, I realize this is a lofty career goal. Who am I to “save the world.” I might as well just buy a t-shirt that says just that and call it a day because that will do just as much good as I ever could with anything. Seems cynical, right? But this is how we make our youth feel when their dreams are to become the next David Beckham, Beyoncé Knowles, or President of the United States. More often than not, our society tends to disbelieve that we are anything extraordinary. We can’t wrap our heads around the idea that the human race is capable of magical, fantastical, phenomenal actions that can have the most beautiful impact on the worlds we live in (from our personal bubbles to our collective human experience).
Perhaps this is because we see the destruction and mayhem humans have caused. But more than likely, we don’t want to believe we are capable of changing the world in a positive way because we don’t want to face the fact that we have altered the world in the most permanently destructive ways possible. If we face one truth, we must face the other.
However, I am here to squelch your fears (squelch is a real word, I looked it up)! I am the rising generation of emblazoned, passionate (albeit social media crazed and perhaps a bit lazy or entitled) youth that is going to save this world. I mean it! We are the generation that doesn’t care what you think about our crazy ideas. We are the generation that doesn't accept no for an answer. We are the generation that refuses to sit in the dark and watch the shadows dance before our eyes. We are getting our degrees (or not), following our dreams, and we are saving the world.
I feel especially honored to be amongst the first generation of students who are graduating from college with degrees related to sustainability. How many of you are reading this and you never even heard the word climate change? Perhaps you still don’t know what sustainability really means. Or maybe you believe that the green movement is ‘just a fad’. Well I am here to say that we are not hippies looking for a ride to Woodstock and we are not climbing fences and chaining ourselves to trees, (not that there is anything wrong with either of those actions - they are actually on my bucket list) but we are the next generation of conscious, empowered, and engaged citizens of the world. Environmentalism is becoming the norm.
This blog will discuss updates and news with Recycle Across America, give recaps and first hand encounters of our events and programs, talk about other sustainability related news, and inform the public about what is really going on in the recycling industry today and how we intend to fix it. I will have segments called “I need to vent…” and will upload video blogs for our more visual audience. This blog will be raunchy at times, it will be fun at times, and it will be real - really real. You are getting a firsthand look at the world through the next generation's eyes. I invite you to comment, argue, and interact as much as you’d like with each post. I also invite you to think of topics you’d like to read about and tell me those in the comments section.
The recycling industry is in a crisis. The easiest most salient act that our collective species can perform today to protect the environment, save finite resources, boost economic growth, close the loop for manufacturing, and take part in creating a sustainable society has been made complicated and confusing for the public. Major waste haulers are giving up on the recycling side of their businesses because it is "not profitable," yet they are not doing anything to try and fix the system. People are confused at the bin. People are wondering if their hard work is going to waste (literally). And I am not going to stand here and watch our world implode. I am going to fix this broken system. I am going to motivate the next generation of recyclers. I am going to make it easy (and cool) for people to recycle right!
I am changing the world. Care to join me?
